One of the many patents at issue in the trial between Samsung and Apple, which Samsung famously lost to the tune over over a billion dollars, was Apple’s so-called rubber-banding patent. That describes the bounce-back effect you see when scrolling to the end of a list. While Samsung was found to be in violation of the patent in the verdict for that trial, Samsung may have some reprieve, after all, as the USPTO has just ruled the patent invalid.

All twenty claims Apple made in regards to the rubber-banding patent have been rejected for various reasons, either due to them being anticipated or obvious based on existing publications.

The downside for Samsung is that this decision isn’t binding upon the court overseeing the trial with Apple, as it’s a non-final action. That might make it difficult for Samsung to convince the judge to modify the damages, though it’s far from an open-and-shut case, and the judge is still free to consider this new evidence.

Apple has plenty of opportunities to fight this non-final ruling, meaning it could still be a long time before the patent’s fate is decided once and for all.